Vinalhaven Sightings: April 2021

Okay and hey. Took a break, getting things rolling again.

Thanks for being patient. You can count on us to eventually roll back around. Eventually…

Tomorrow is my 50^th, so thanks for your patience!

Anyway – directly below is something I guess I started in January. Didn’t get far….maybe we’ll start with this, and then add below.

Last year's Ghost Pipe

Get the vaccine!

Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report

January 15 2021

Brought to you with the kindness and support of Vinalhaven Land Trust and the Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Highlights – Sharp-shinned Hawk, Rough Legged Hawk, White-winged Crossbills & Common Redpolls, Orange Crowned Warbler, Ferry Rides, mushrooms, Belted Kingfisher,

Business – Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends – nature. Or nature stuff. I was trying to make that anti-climactic, hope I did the job!

Tiit Trick - click on the photos to enlarge.....

like this seal back

Lady Gaga Oreos

Anyway – Speaking of limited editions ….. here’s an article sent in for reference on the art, science, and spiritual need for limited edition Oreos – Thanks Robert Harding! Longtime VSR reader, I believe first time ‘Oreo-themed contributor’! Congratulations and thanks…..Enjoy!

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/style/oreo-flavors.html?referringSource=articleShare

Photos of Lady Gaga Oreos have officially been sent in more than any other product.

I am honored that some of you thought of me when you spotted this.

Here's a couple others, holiday themed

and magic food coloring that turns your milk green!

more towards the bottom, and foods that maybe shouldn't exist

accipiter - Sharpie looks like
photo by Colleen Conlan

Enjoy!

surf scoters in the suns reflection

Sightings - ferry Ride – White-winged and Surf Scoter, Common Loon, Common Eider, Old tale Duck, Black Guillemot,

black guillemot butt - guillebutt

Basin – Lots of White-winged Crossbills, chatter, singing and evading a hunting Sharp-shinned Hawk – maybe the same Colleen snapped shots of!?! Right across the street….and down a mile. Harbor Seal, Hairy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Belted Kingfisher,

Orange crowned Warbler
photo by John Drury

And so there you have it. Here’s the Orange-crowned Warbler shots that John Drury sent in ….

orange crowned warbler
photo by John Drury

PSA – make sure you check out John’s website – sightingsfromskua.blogspot – for more and awesome shots! Thanks for sharing John.

Winter shots –

Quick but fun winter….

for some reason the blog wont let me

put just any photos next to each other

thus the long line of photos...

robin and winterberry

Robins and waxwings were great…

Here are some ice shots from Mack’s Pond cascade……

Welcome (back) to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report –

April 28, 2021

Highlights – Horned Grebe, Brown Creeper, Songbirds including Carolina Wren, Common Eider, Owl pellets, Woodpeckers, Scat and Frozen Mushrooms…lots of Turkey Vultures and action.

horned grebe in breeding plumage

Who’s molting – gone now, but for a few weeks the molting of Horned Grebes was one of the shows in Seal Bay. Always great to see them in breeding plumage…

molting Horned Grebe

…fun to see then go through the changes as well….

Who’s singing – Winter Wren, tons of Brown Creepers, Ruby Crowned and Golden Crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrush, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-capped Chickadee.

there has been a Carolina Wren singing on Coombs Neck for the past month or more, which has been fun to hear. good year for Carolina Wren in Maine - these videos I took from my driveway in St George. Hope they uploaded - hard to tell from here!

downy woodpecker showing black dots on
white tail feathers

Hairy woodpecker - no dots on white tail feathers
both are tail fanning

Who’s big and not singing….Osprey are back, or at least some at. Broad-winged Hawks….and …Turkey Vultures.

plenty of these around
Turkey Vulture

Many groups of Turkey Vultures have been seen around the island. Mating and courtship behavior have been observed on the ‘big’ island. For the protection of potential Vulture nests and young no location for such illicit behavior will be given.

I do believe this is the last
deer leg ever to be on the old
carrying place bridge

Vultures are doing ‘it’ on the island!

Let the dance begin!

Who’s eating – Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) are cool. Here are some shots from Seal Bay….

They ate several pregnant female Green Crabs while observed over the last month plus. Here the male is thrashing a green crab to remove legs to make swallowing easier.

Notice the orange egg mass on the crab’s underside. We need more Eiders!

here that closer up

northern eider

….and then from the Rockland Break water.

The male here has a (not so) dull yellow bill, making it a ‘Northern Eider’ subspecies (S. mollissima borealis) that breeds north/east of the Hudson Bay through to coasts of Greenland and Iceland.

Our local Eiders are of subspecies (S. mollissima dresseri) which is also very cool.

Insects we trust! - Snow fleas – these photos are from St George, but Hiram Adair reported seeing a ton of snow fleas in the woods near his home at about the same time I took photos of snow fleas in St George.

Mourning Cloak

Mourning Cloak – Stephen Brock reported seeing Mourning Cloak on island the same day I took this picture at the Camden Snow Bowl. Very Cool!

balls of sawdust - snowshoe hare scat

Scat shots – enjoy! Snowshoe hare

the letter 'e'

Spraint – new otter latrines popping up around island! I know! Too exciting for words. This letter ‘e’ in lobster exoskeleton is a favorite though. Don’t tell anyone.

eight saw whet pellets =
1 great horned pellet (top, squished)

Pellet shots – From the trails of the Basin and Seal Bay, Saw-whet Owls have been a) overwintering, b) migrating through, or c) setting up camp over the last month, with 8 of their tiny pellets being found trailside in the Basin (5) and Barney Point (3).